C a p. XI i. The Caribby-Iflands. 



ca, who, upon the nrft Difcovery of the New-World^ imagin'd 

 that the Horfe and the Rider made up one Creature, like the 

 imaginary Centaurs of the Poets.' And that of thofe others,who 

 after they were fubdu'd, coming to defire peace and pardon of Mmagm's 

 the Men,and to bring them Gold and Provifions,went and made f^ 1 * l ' *' 

 the fame Prefents to the Horfes, with a Speech much like that c ' 

 which they had made to the Men, interpreting the neighing; of 

 thofe Creatures for a Language of composition and truce : And 

 to conclude thefe inftances, we mail add only the childifii fot- VeLery y c.iG 

 tiflmefs of thofe fame Indians of America , who roundly be- GarcilaJfo y 

 liev'd. that the Letters which the Spaniards fent one to another 1 9> c ^9> 

 were certain Meffengers and Spies, fpeaking, and feeing, and 

 difcovering the moll: fecret anions 5 and upon this perfwafion, 

 fearing one day the eye and tongue of one of thefe Letters, 

 they hid it under a ftone, that they might freely eat fome Me- 

 lons of their Mafters. In fine, there will be nocaufe to think 

 it Co ftrange that the Caribbians mould take Gun-powder, a 

 thing abfolutely unknown to them , for fome feed that might 

 befbwn, when there were fome people living In France 3 whofe 

 habitations being at a great diftance from the places where Salt 

 was made, thought out of a like imagination that it was ga- 

 ther'd in Gardens. It hapned alio, not many years fince, that 

 a Woman, an Inhabitant of Martinico , having fent feveral 

 pounds of Caret-foeUs and Tobacco to a She-Merchant of SMa- Caret is a 

 lo y s y when this latter had put off the Commodity, (he gave an kfnd of Tor-' 

 account thereof to her Correfpondent at Martinico^ and ad- ^iJi-JhelU 

 vis'd to plant Carets in her Garden rather then Tobacco, for 

 that the former was much dearer in France^ and that there was 

 no danger of its rotting in the Ship, as there was of Tobacco. 

 But let us Confider what there is yet to befaid concerning the 

 natural Simplicity of our Savages of the Caribbies. 



It is a pleafant thing to confider that thefe poor people ftiould 

 be fo fimple, as that though they have many places fit for the 

 making of Salt, yet dare they not make ufe of it, as accounting 

 Salt extreamly prejudicial to health, and the prefervation of 

 life 3 thence it proceeds that they never either eat of it, or fea- 

 fon their meat therewith j and when at any time they fee our 

 people m*ke ufe of it, they fay to them, out of a compafliors 

 worthy companion, Compere, thou hajlenejt thy own death : But 

 infteadof Salt, they feafon all their meffes with Fy man, or Ame^ 

 rican Pepper. 



Nor is there any Svviries-flelh eaten among them, which they 

 call Coincoin i and Bouirokpu 3 nor yet Tortoife, (or as fome call 

 them Turtles) which they call CataUou, though there be abun- 

 dance of thofe Creatures in their Country : Of this their abfti- 

 nence they give the fimpleft reafons imaginable : For as to the" 

 Swine, they are afraid to tafteof it, left they mould have fmall 

 eyes like thofe of that Beaft 5 now in their judgment it is the 



N n greateft 



